710 tunnel project could be coming before MTA

With county transit authorities considering the step forward on a proposed tunnel extension of the 710 Freeway, a local coalition of governments has endorsed the project.

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments passed a resolution Thursday urging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board to start environmental work on the project.

There were no votes against the resolution, though there were abstentions and some cities in opposition to the plan did not have representatives present.

John Fasana a SGVCOG representative and MTA board member, said it is time to move forward with the project.

"We've passed through the study phase and I am hoping there will be sufficient support to move into the next phase," Fasana said.

The MTA may be looking at the issue at its meeting next Thursday. The board was originally scheduled to vote on whether start the environmental study process on that date, but the item was pulled by the head of the board, Glendale Councilman Ara Najarian, who is opposed to the project.

Environmental work on the project could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Najarian, and he believes the project has not been sufficiently studied to merit that investment.

The proposed 4.5-mile extension from the end of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra to the 210 Freeway has been under discussion for years. It was declared geologically feasible last year, but an environmental impact study has not been done.

The study looked at five different alternatives, but the MTA recommendation would ask for further study of the Zone 3 area through South Pasadena.

South Pasadena officials have strenuously opposed a surface freeway completion of the 710 Freeway for decades, and there has also been some opposition to the tunnel option, both within the City Council and in the community.

Other area cities, including La Ca ada Flintridge and Glendale have also been opposed, on the grounds that traffic generated by the tunnel could clog up the 210 Freeway. There has been some opposition to the project in Pasadena as well.

David Spence, La Cañada Flintridge's representative to SGVCOG, abstained on the organization's endorsement of the project. Glendale does not have a seat.

South Pasadena and Pasadena did not have representatives present.

South Pasadena Councilman Mike Ten said he his unhappy his city didn't take part in the discussion.

"It's too late for us to act on it or discuss it now," Ten said. "We should have been involved."

He said the SGVCOG is looking to present the San Gabriel Valley as being unified behind the project, when in reality, he believes, it is not.

It is still unclear whether the MTA board will even consider the item next week. Najarian said that Fasana, an advocate of the project, has asked the MTA staff to put the item back on agenda. Najarian, meanwhile, said he asked the staff to advise on whether Fasana is allowed to make that request.

Najarian said that he believes that the cost of the project has not been sufficiently studied. The proposal for the project is to have a private company help fund the project and offset its costs by charging tolls.

The MTA has not determined for certain that companies are still willing to make the investment in the project, Najarian said.

"It's premature for the MTA to move forward with this," Najarian said. "The funding for this tunnel might never materialize."